7 Best Pea Trellis Netting For Market Gardens That Old Farmers Swear By

There’s nothing more frustrating than seeing a beautiful stand of peas, heavy with pods, collapse into a tangled mess after a single windy day. A good trellis isn’t just about keeping plants off the ground; it’s about air circulation, disease prevention, and making your harvest ten times easier. Choosing the right netting is one of those small decisions that pays big dividends in time saved and yield gained.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, this site earns from qualifying purchases. Thank you!

Tenax Hortonova Netting: The Market Standard

If you walk onto most small market farms, you’re going to see this white netting. Tenax Hortonova is the professional standard for a reason. It’s made from UV-stabilized polypropylene, which means it doesn’t get brittle and snap after one season in the sun. You can expect to get three, four, or even more years out of a single roll if you take it down and store it properly.

The real value here is reliability. You stretch it tight between your T-posts, and it stays tight. The white color makes it easy to see against the green foliage, which helps you spot peas you might have otherwise missed during a quick harvest. It’s a workhorse product that simply does its job without any fuss.

VIVOSUN Polyester Netting for Flexible Setups

Sometimes your pea bed isn’t a perfect 50-foot row. VIVOSUN and similar polyester nettings are fantastic for their flexibility. They have a bit more stretch than polypropylene netting, which can be a blessing for odd-shaped beds or when you’re trying to get the tension just right on an uneven patch of ground.

The tradeoff for that flexibility is a shorter lifespan. Polyester can stretch out over a season, especially under the weight of a heavy sugar snap pea crop, and it’s more susceptible to sun degradation. Think of this as a great one-to-two-season option, perfect for gardeners who are still figuring out their permanent bed layout or need a quick, affordable solution.

Dalen-Gardeneer Trellis: Reliable and Reusable

You’ll find this green netting in just about every garden center, and it’s a solid, dependable choice. Dalen-Gardeneer is a lot like Hortonova in its basic function but often feels a bit softer and more pliable out of the package. It’s a reliable product that holds up well for multiple seasons.

Because it’s so widely available, it’s a great option if you run out mid-project and need to grab another roll locally. The green color blends in with the foliage, which some people prefer for aesthetic reasons, though it can make spotting stray pods a little trickier. It’s a no-nonsense trellis that has supported countless backyard pea patches.

Ross Trellis Netting: A Lightweight, Easy Choice

Ross trellis netting is the definition of a lightweight, easy-to-handle option. It’s thin, simple to cut with scissors, and won’t fight you during installation. This makes it ideal for shorter pea varieties, like dwarf shelling peas, that don’t produce a massive amount of vine weight.

However, its lightweight nature is also its biggest weakness. A heavy crop of telephone peas or a big, wet snow pea harvest can easily stretch and sag this netting. Consider this a single-season product. It’s perfect for a quick setup or for interplanting with something that doesn’t need Herculean support, but don’t expect it to be a long-term investment.

Agfabric Heavy-Duty Netting for Bumper Crops

When you know you’re going to have a massive harvest, you need a trellis that won’t buckle under pressure. Agfabric’s heavy-duty netting is built for exactly that scenario. The strands are noticeably thicker and stronger than standard netting, giving you peace of mind when your sugar snaps are hanging thick and heavy.

This isn’t the netting for a small patch of dwarf peas; it’s overkill. But for those long rows of indeterminate varieties that climb six feet or more, the extra strength is invaluable. It prevents the dreaded "mid-season sag" that can pull down T-posts and turn your orderly row into a jungle.

The extra material means it’s a bit heavier to handle and costs more upfront. But if you’ve ever lost part of a crop to a collapsed trellis, you know that the extra cost is cheap insurance for protecting your bumper crop.

Biodegradable Jute Netting: The Natural Option

For those focused on sustainable practices and minimizing plastic, jute netting is the answer. It’s made from natural plant fibers and looks fantastic in a garden. The rough texture gives pea tendrils an excellent surface to grip onto, and the plants seem to climb it with ease.

The biggest advantage is the cleanup. At the end of the season, there’s no tedious untangling of dead vines from plastic mesh. You simply cut the whole thing down—vines, netting, and all—and toss it directly into the compost pile. It all breaks down together.

Be warned, however, that jute has its limits. It is a strictly one-season product and it will stretch, especially after a heavy rain. For very tall or heavy-bearing pea varieties, you may see significant sagging by the end of the season. It’s a tradeoff: you gain ultimate convenience and sustainability but sacrifice the rigid, season-long support of a synthetic net.

Steel Remesh Panels: A Permanent Trellis Solution

If you are tired of the annual ritual of putting up and taking down netting, steel remesh is your permanent solution. These are the same rigid wire panels used for reinforcing concrete, and they make an unbelievably sturdy trellis. Once you drive in heavy-duty T-posts and wire these panels in place, you are done for a decade or more.

The upfront work is significant. The panels are heavy, awkward to move, and require strong posts to support them. They also represent a much higher initial investment than a roll of netting. But the long-term payoff is zero setup time each spring. Your trellis is just there, ready for planting.

This is the "buy once, cry once" approach. It’s not for someone who likes to change their garden layout every year. But if you have a dedicated space for climbing peas and beans, a permanent steel trellis is a game-changer that frees up valuable time for other farm tasks.

Choosing Your Mesh Size for Optimal Pea Support

The material matters, but the size of the holes in your netting is just as critical. The ideal mesh size for peas is around 6×6 inches or 7×7 inches. This dimension is the sweet spot for two very important reasons.

First, it’s large enough for you to easily reach your hand through to harvest peas from the back side of the plant without breaking vines. Any smaller, and you’ll be struggling to pick, leading to missed pods. Second, the spacing is small enough that the pea tendrils can always find a strand to grab onto as they climb, preventing the plant from flopping and creating gaps in the canopy. Netting with holes that are too large forces the vines to sag before they can find support, creating a weak and tangled mess.

Ultimately, the best pea trellis is the one that fits your garden’s scale, your budget, and your tolerance for annual chores. Whether you choose a disposable jute net for its convenience or install a permanent steel grid, the key is to get it in place early. A trellis installed after the peas are already a foot tall is a rescue mission, not a plan.